


Goshiki Tsutomu's Fool-Proof Step by Step Plan on How to be the Coolest Kid in Town

by AwkwardPotatoChild



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Fluff, Getting Together, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, M/M, Questionable Fashion Choices, Rare Pair, Rare Pairings, Romance, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Self-Acceptance, Trying To Be Cool, Wooing, excessive usage of the word 'cool'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22194550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardPotatoChild/pseuds/AwkwardPotatoChild
Summary: All Goshiki wanted was to be cool.Like, super cool!
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Goshiki Tsutomu
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	Goshiki Tsutomu's Fool-Proof Step by Step Plan on How to be the Coolest Kid in Town

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jimatoshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimatoshi/gifts), [snazzy_scarf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snazzy_scarf/gifts).



> It's now past midnight in my time zone, which means it's now January 10th, which means it's Haikyuu season 4 premiere day, even though I know it's been the 10th in Japan!!!  
> This is also my first fic of the new year!
> 
>  **Backstory:** On January 2, 2020, in the Orange Court, [Tersa](https://twitter.com/blulious) aka Nee-san, posted a behind the scenes photo of her Best Boy Battle. Because we lack reading comprehension, rather than understand that it was meant to be about how Akaashi and Goshiki were battling it out in the next round, we assumed it meant she was making art of the two of them together. This marks the birth of AkaGoshi.
> 
> I dedicate this story to Andy, who can't read, Scarf, my cloth child, and Nee-san, for starting all of this. It is through your encouragement and enabling that this fic exists. Thank you. <3
> 
> If the links to the outfit images aren't working, they can be found here:  
> [Full outfit inspiration](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/http%3A%2F%2Fcom.ft.imagepublish.prod.s3.amazonaws.com%2F461d47f2-c996-11e7-aa33-c63fdc9b8c6c?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700)  
> [Flounder socks](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-zat7tjdww8/images/stencil/500x659/products/1422/2037/Flounder__61127.1572542819.jpg?c=2)  
> [Cool sunglasses](https://www.novelties-direct.co.uk/images/D/cool%20glasses.JPG)

All Goshiki wanted was to be cool.

Like, super cool!

It probably (definitely) started when he was younger. He remembers being teased for his bowl cut when he was little and begging his mom to change it into something cooler, like a mohawk. She always said no and it finally ended with him trying to cut his hair himself, messing it up, and then having to go bald for a brief (dark) period of time. Eventually, he grew to love his signature bowl cut, which he thought was very cool of himself.

But really, Goshiki’s journey to self-love only happened because of his cool senpai Tendou.

Tendou was already really cool in Goshiki’s mind when they first met. The lanky third year had no regard for the rules and social norms when he first came strolling into the gym during their first meeting. His bright fiery hair made him stand out among the crowd. It was obvious that people were staring at him, but Tendou didn’t care. In fact, it only seemed to egg him on even more. He threw up a peace sign and lazily looked over the first years before draping himself over Ushijima, who was clearly used to his antics.

Goshiki thought he was so cool then.

But then, Tendou got even cooler when he defended Goshiki’s bowl cut.

Shirabu didn’t know, of course (or at least, that’s what Goshiki thinks.) He didn’t mean to call him Lil’ Bowl Cut. He didn’t know that Goshiki got called a bunch of names for his haircut. He didn’t know that Goshiki had gotten teased for it plenty of times before. It wasn’t the first time this had happened either and since he knew Shirabu didn’t really mean it (maybe), he chose to ignore it.

But then, one day, Shirabu happened to call him that in front Tendou, and Goshiki’s fist tightened and he gritted his teeth unconsciously. Tendou showed no outward sign of noticing, but Goshiki knew he was far more observant than he let on to be. Without missing a beat, he called out to Goshiki telling him that his hair was cool and that they were twins. He whipped out his phone and pulled up some old pictures of him with the same haircut as Goshiki and Goshiki remembered swelling with pride when he saw his cool senpai looking just like him.

Tendou wasn’t the only cool senpai that Goshiki had either. Semi was all cold and cool, with his special dyed hair (that Goshiki was honored to have helped him with one day) and his awesome setting skills. Ohira was really calm and cool too. He always cheered him up whenever he felt down. Soekawa wasn’t a regular, but he was the coolest vice-captain that Goshiki knew. Yunohama was a pinch server and he had this cool jump float serve that always left Goshiki staring at him in awe. Kawanishi was cool and quiet, and he was super intimidating to Goshiki. Yamagata was always nice to him and he had a cool undercut too. Even Shirabu was cool in Goshiki’s book!

But if you asked Goshiki who the coolest person he knew was, there’s no doubt in his mind that it would have to be Ushijima.

Goshiki knew who Ushijima was long before he knew about Shiratorizawa. He remembered seeing a photo spread of him in a volleyball magazine when he was back in junior high. The photo that stood out to him was the one of Ushijima mid-spike, flying through the air, arm poised to hit the ball, confidence oozing from every part of him. Since then, Goshiki had nothing but respect for the ace and knew it was his goal to be just like him one day. He made it his goal to get into Shiratorizawa (which he did), become a regular (got that done in his first year), and become the team’s ace (soon!) all because of Ushijima. He knew he still had a bit of a ways to go before he actually became as cool as him, but he was making steady progress.

So all in all, Goshiki didn’t think anyone could be cooler than Ushijima.

But then, Goshiki saw Akaashi and he realized, oh shit! Maybe there  _ was _ someone cooler than Ushijima!

(But maybe not really because damn, Ushijima is really  _ really _ cool, but Akaashi is definitely up there!)

Goshiki first saw Akaashi at a training camp put together by Shiratorizawa. He was already buzzing with excitement before the other teams even arrived and that only grew when the first one finally did. Fukuroudani’s captain came in with a burst of energy that could have rivaled his own, adding more to this enthusiasm. He was already jumping and yelling about everything, which looking back was really hilarious given that his team was used these outbursts and were watching amusedly, while Shiratorizawa weren’t, causing some of the team to back up, leaving Ushijima to deal with the owl captain on his own. He really did seem to have an endless amount of energy with no sign of stopping until a figure stepped out from behind the team and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Bokuto, please.”

For once in Goshiki’s life, he had nothing to say. All he could do was stand frozen with his mouth agape as he stared at the wondrous being before him. He knew he wasn’t always the most observant person, but even so, he was wondering how he managed to miss someone like him, someone so calm, someone so beautiful, someone so-

“So cool…”

A snort came from his left, but Goshiki was deaf to everything around him. He thought he had known what the definition of cool was before, but whoever this was had redefined it for him. He didn’t know who this person was, but Goshiki realized he had a new goal to add his list now and it wasn’t just to get this person to notice him. Oh no, Goshiki’s goal was much bigger than that.

Now, instead of just being cool, Goshiki needed to be the coolest kid in town-No! In Japan!

And he had a plan in place to do just that!

* * *

**Step 0: Learn what that guy’s name is!**

Okay, so while Goshiki did have a plan, he realized that he first needed to figure out who this cool guy even was! It wasn’t until later that he learned that the (potentially) coolest person he had ever seen was named Akaashi Keiji since he had been too busy staring at him to realize that Bokuto had introduced the entire team earlier. It was through gushing to Tendou about his (maybe?) crush that he also learned he was the setter and vice-captain for Fukuroudani.

“You mean he’s got  _ two _ roles?!” he exclaimed. “Oh my god!!!”

Tendou laughed. “Yup!” he said. “I think he’s also only a second year too, so he’s like...really going for it, ya know?”

“Only a second year?!”

As if Akaashi couldn’t get any cooler in Goshiki’s mind, Tendou had to come and drop these facts on him as well. He was now even more blown away by how cool he was. He was going to have to do a lot if he wanted to show Akaashi that he was just as cool as he was then!

Thankfully, with the power of the internet, Goshiki refined his plan through the help of various articles he found on how to be cool that he quickly searched up after he finished quickly changing in preparation for the practice match. Fixing a few spots here and there, Goshiki was proud to say that he had a fool-proof plan.

Oh man! Akaashi’s not gonna know what hit him!

**Step 0: Success!**

* * *

**Step 1: Show him that you’re a rebel who takes risks!**

The first part of Goshiki’s plan was showing off how much of a risk taker he was because that’s what the cool kids do!

Of course, he wasn’t about to go and do that while on the court though. As tempting as it was to rebel against everything Ushijima and Coach Washijo said, and show off the fact that his daring decisions helped his team win, Goshiki also knew that if that failed, he and the team would be in for a lot of laps and serves and spikes and more if he did so and that would be very uncool of him to do.

But between matches and after them? That was a whole nother situation! Those would be Goshiki’s chance!

The first match between Shiratorizawa and Fukuroudani were torture for Goshiki. He spent his time doing his best to focus on the match at hand, but every time the ball went over the net, it made its way towards Akaashi and Goshiki was struck speechless once again. He knew Fukuroudani had to be good, so therefore, Akaashi must have been as well, but hearing about it and seeing it were two completely different things.

As if he couldn’t be more starstruck, Goshiki found himself thoroughly distracted as the match went on, nearly causing it to end in a loss for them, if it weren’t for the fact that Ushijima had no chill, even in a practice match. All the teams were now taking a break outside the gym, enjoying the cool breeze. Most of them had stuck together with their own teams and were now talking about how their matches went. Some others, mainly the captains, were mingling with others they hadn’t seen in awhile.

And then there was Goshiki, who was currently trying to stealthily march over and get into Akaashi’s line of sight.

The moment the match finished, Goshiki was shaking once again as he tried to find his chance to go over and show Akaashi how cool he was. He spotted him talking to Bokuto for a bit, dabbing the sweat away from his own face, before the owl captain ran over to talk to Ushijima, leaving Akaashi alone. He quickly hurried over behind Akaashi’s back and leaned his shoulder against the wall of the gym, clearing his throat to catch his attention.

“Oh.” Akaashi startled slightly, but quickly schooled his expression. “Hello.”

“‘Sup?” nodded Goshiki. He tried to stick his hands in his pockets, only to have them slip and flounder when he remembered he was in gym shorts. He quickly crossed his arms over his best instead. “Name’s Goshiki. You come here often?” he recalled from all the movies he watched.

“Akaashi and umm...no, I’m just here for the training camp, like everyone else.”

“Cool.” Goshiki brushed aside some of his hair, but it just fell back into his eyes again. “Welcome. If you got any questions about this place, let me know. I’m here pretty often, so I’ve got all the sweet hook-ups.”

Akaashi chuckled. “Well, I would hope so since this is also your school.”

Goshiki nodded again and looked away, trying to look cool, but he happened to look directly into the sunlight and he immediately squinted and brought up a hand to block out the sunlight. The two of them fell silent and Goshiki could feel himself panicking as he racked his brain to try and find what else to say and do.

“It’s pretty hot out.” Goshiki jumped at the sound of Akaashi’s voice, but he was relieved that he was still talking to him. “You should probably drink some water and stay hydrated, especially since we all worked really hard during that match.”

“Tch. Don’t worry,” Goshiki declared. He stood up straight, chest puffed out, and pointed a thumb towards himself. “Nothing’s as hot as me!”

Akaashi gave him a skeptical look, which Goshiki mistook for interest, patting himself on the back. He was about to say something else about how cool he was, when a deep familiar voice cut him off.

“Goshiki.”

He whipped around to find Ushijima standing behind him. He gave a nod to Akaashi before turning his attention back to Goshiki.

“Go drink some water. I didn’t see you get any earlier and it’s important to stay hydrated.”

“What?!” Goshiki sputtered. He nervously glanced at Akaashi before turning back to his captain. “I don’t need any! I’m fine!”

“That’s what you said last week before passing out and I had to carry you to the nurse.”

Goshiki could feel his cheeks burning bright red. He huffed indignantly and turned away. “...maybe so.”

The sound of Akaashi chuckling was both a blessing and a curse to Goshiki. On one hand, his heart was soaring at the fact that he had managed to get Akaashi to laugh, the sound of it more lovely than any song that would ever be composed. On the other, Akaashi was laughing at him, which meant he most definitely didn’t think he was cool at all. He was about to grumble and pout again, but a water bottle was immediately thrust in front of him and he sighed before taking it from his captain.

“It was nice talking to you, Goshiki, Ushijima.”

Goshiki looked up to see Akaashi give him a small wave before turning away to join the rest of his team. He hurriedly returned it, nearly tossing his water bottle in the process, but managed to catch it in time. Once Akaashi was out of sight, he finally sighed and let his shoulders sag for a moment before slapping his face (and forgetting that he was still holding his water bottle) and giving a shout.

“Alright! Let’s try that again!”

Goshiki ran off to start step two of his plan, more determined as ever to show Akaashi how cool he was. Meanwhile, a confused Ushijima merely stared as his kouhai ran off.

**Step 1: Failed!**

* * *

**Step 2: Look super cool!**

This next step in Goshiki’s plan was going to be easier than he thought it would be. All of his senpais were super fashionable, but out of all of them, he already knew exactly who he was going to ask for help. His other teammates may tease him for it, but Goshiki thought Semi’s fashion sense was the absolute coolest! I mean, who else could pull off hair like that?!

Usually, the managers would work together and cook for all of the teams, but some of the senior players decided that they wanted all go out and eat instead. Somehow (most likely through Ushijima), they managed to convince the coaches to give everyone the option of going out or staying in that night for dinner after matches were done.

So of course, after they wrapped up, Goshiki immediately went to Semi’s room and begged him for help, which surprisingly didn’t take much convincing once he heard fashion was involved.

“Don’t worry, Goshiki,” reassured Semi. “I don’t fool around when it comes to clothing and I’ll be sure to make you look great for tonight.”

The two of them then began looking up outfit inspiration. Goshiki pulled up some images from famous celebrities that he thought were cool, but Semi immediately shot all of the outfits down. He even looked up some anime characters that he thought were cool too, but nothing was up to Semi’s standards.

“All of these outfits are too typical, too common. They may seem cool to everyday folks, but people like us are beyond that, Goshiki. We need to look more into some high fashion outfits.”

They began looking through runway photos from fashion shows all over the world, finally settling on [a runway outfit](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/http%3A%2F%2Fcom.ft.imagepublish.prod.s3.amazonaws.com%2F461d47f2-c996-11e7-aa33-c63fdc9b8c6c?fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700) that even Goshiki could see was super cool. There was no way anyone could deny it! It was then that they got started on trying to put the whole outfit together based on what few things they and the team had.

Goshiki already had himself a green sweater, being a fan of them, but only one in a solid green. To improvise the silver detailing in the actual outfit, Semi sought out the holographic stickers Tendou uses when he decorates their birthday cards, which he then carefully stuck to Goshiki’s sweater. The shorts were easy enough since he’d already been wearing his grey gym shorts to begin with, but the dress jacket was another problem. Luckily, a quick text to the team group chat led them to Ushijima who had one for him to borrow. It was, however, three times his size, but he wasn’t actually going to wear it anyway. (“Just artfully drape!” as Semi had said.) For the shoes, he was able to simply use his school shoes, but the socks weren’t in any color that he owned. Goshiki planned on asking someone, but Semi had vetoed the idea and told him to wear some of his favorite patterned socks instead. (“It’ll add a pop of color and personality!”) Since he had two feet, he decided on a rainbow striped knee high one for his left foot, while his right one sported [one of with flounder on it in various colors](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-zat7tjdww8/images/stencil/500x659/products/1422/2037/Flounder__61127.1572542819.jpg?c=2), an homage to his favorite food. He was worried about the accessories at first, but Semi brushed his worries aside easily and called over Shirabu to help. Goshiki never realized how many bracelets and necklaces his senpai had, but he lent them to him once Semi threatened to tell Ushijima about it. (“They’re from his emo phase, but don’t tell him I told you that.”) Realizing it was also going to be a bit chilly that night and since he wasn’t going to actually be wearing the jacket, Semi pulled Goshiki’s pokémon infinity scarf for him to wear as well and added another touch of his personality. The finishing touch were [a pair of glasses](https://www.novelties-direct.co.uk/images/D/cool%20glasses.JPG) that Tendou had lying around and had punched the lenses out of (by accident.) They were originally sunglasses with a rainbow frame that spelled out ‘cool,’ and had lenses where the o’s were and Goshiki had always thought they were cool, but now, he had the chance to finally wear them.

Taking one final look at himself in the mirror, Goshiki did a little walk and turn before turning to face Semi with a wide grin.

“It’s perfect!”

As expected, most of the players decided to head out and get dinner, so Goshiki’s plan was still in motion as he and Semi made their way to the restaurant that the teams decided on earlier. The sound of laughter and conversations could be heard from outside, the place in full swing, but he paid attention to none of it when he stepped inside. Instead, as if drawn together like moths to a flame, Goshiki was able to immediately seek out Akaashi and he ran towards his table in a flash.

“Akaashi! Hey!” he called out.

Akaashi turned away from his conversation with Bokuto and gave him a small nod. “Hello, Goshiki. Good to see you again.”

He felt his heart pounding even louder as he processed his name coming from Akaashi’s lips. He then took note of how the setter was eyeing him up and down, and he felt his confidence grow even more.

Goshiki did a little turn. “You like my outfit?”

“Ummm…”

“It’s pretty cool, right? This baby is fresh off the Paris runways!”

“It’s certainly...interesting,” answered Akaashi as he took a sip of his drink.

Goshiki beamed with even more pride because Akaashi actually complimented his outfit. It was then that he noticed the empty seat next to Akaashi and realized this could be his chance. He glanced at it and back up at Akaashi who gave him a small smile. He could see the setter about to offer him the seat when another familiar voice cut him off.

“Wait,  _ that’s  _ the outfit I was helping you guys put together?!”

Goshiki fought the urge to groan and looked across the room to where Shirabu was now standing and pointing at him. Soekawa was trying to calm him down.

“Shirabu, you’re making a scene.”

“Unbelievable! I should’ve known it’d be a hot mess when you of all people texted me!”

He was now pointing at Semi who merely brushed aside his hand. Semi was now explaining all the nuances and details of the outfit, and how Shirabu would never understand the world of high fashion, but Goshiki was focused on what Shirabu had said instead.

“Hot mess?”

Goshiki looked down at the outfit he was wearing and then around the room. He finally noticed all of the stares and looks that he was getting from, not just the other team, but from some of the patrons as well, and suddenly felt not as cool anymore. Unable to look at Akaashi or even be in his line of sight anymore, Goshiki turned and ran out of the restaurant, the cool night air greeting him. He was ready to head back to the school when a flash of red caught his eye.

“Yooo! Goshiki!” Tendou called out. He waved wildly at Goshiki and ran over to where he was. “That place was kinda packed, so me and Toshi are gonna go get some ice cream from down the road, if you wanna join us!”

Goshiki looked behind Tendou and spotted Ushijima standing there. He looked back at Tendou who smiled brightly at him before wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him into a one-armed hug. He felt his heart swell again and gave a firm now.

Yeah, ice cream definitely sounded good right now.

**Step 2: Failed!**

* * *

**Step 3: Sound super cool!**

Okay, so maybe fashion wasn’t exactly Semi or Goshiki’s strength, but that’s okay! There are other ways to be cool!

After much deliberation and a conversation with Tendou over ice cream, Goshiki realized that if he couldn’t act cool or look cool, he could at least sound cool and thankfully, since he was already having ice cream with his two favorite senpais, it was easy to get them to help him once they got back to school. Now hanging out in Ushijima’s room, he was no longer wearing the cool outfit from earlier and was dressed more comfortably in his Piplup kigurumi. Tendou on the other hand, had taken back his borrowed sunglasses and was now wearing them proudly. He peeled the stickers off the sweater as well and had them stuck to his face haphazardly. Ushijima, however, was dressed plainly in shorts and a t-shirt. They were all sitting on the ground, with the lights dimmed and one of Tendou’s sports anime soundtracks playing softly in the background (“To set the mood!”).

“Okay! Teach me how to sound cool!”

Goshiki gave a deep bow to his senpais. Ushijima’s brow was furrowed in confusion while Tendou hummed thoughtfully and stroked his invisible beard.

“Rise, my child!” Tendou commanded. Goshiki followed suit. “We will gladly teach you the ways of conversation, so that you may impress the setter from the team of the owls!”

“Thank you, senpai!”

Ushijima said nothing, but gave a nod in acknowledgment.

From there, the lessons began for Goshiki and they went well on into the night, much to the chagrin of Ushijima who kept stressing how important it was for them to get a good night’s rest, but also ended up staying up with them to make sure they didn’t get into too much trouble. Tendou taught Goshiki what to say and how to say it, covering a variety of topics to ensure that he was well-rounded conversationalist and that whatever topic Akaashi brings up, he’d be prepared. Ushijima even helped as well, covering subjects that Tendou wasn’t as well versed in, like farming, plants, and taxes. The trio finally wrapped up at around three in the morning (“We all should have been in bed by eleven.”) when Tendou’s anime soundtracks finally started to loop again and a yawn finally escaped Goshiki. He got up with a stretch and bid Tendou a farewell as Ushijima offered to walk him to his room down the hall. Just as they were about to head out though, Tendou’s voice called out to him.

“Hey, Goshiki.”

“Hm?”

“I know Toshi and I just spent all night helping you out, but maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe you should just be yourself, Goshiki.”

“What?”

Tendou gave him a smile. “I don’t know about Akaashi, but I think you’re really cool and if he can’t see that, then he’s not cool at all.”

Goshiki paused for a moment and ruminated on his words. He had never considered himself to be cool, hence why he started this whole mission to begin with, and usually, most people thought of him as either cute or annoying. Tendou was really the only person to ever call him cool and it thrilled him every time, but this time…

This time, there was something melancholic about the way Tendou had said it, as if he was quietly begging Goshiki to realize something obvious. Maybe it was the late night and lack of sleep or the residual embarrassment from earlier, but Goshiki found himself turning away, dazed. He hadn’t realized he had made it back to his room until he noticed he was staring at his door with Ushijima beside him, concern on his face. He looked up towards his captain and for once, he didn’t have to say anything.

“I can’t say I fully understand or relate to your desires, Goshiki,” answered Ushijima, “but I do understand the importance of living life honestly.”

Goshiki nodded. “I’ll think about it then. Good night.”

“Good night. Remember we have to be up early.”

Goshiki gave Ushijima a wave before disappearing into his room. He moved automatically and got ready for bed, falling asleep the moment his head hit his pillow. That night, he dreamed about what Tendou had said, pondering and wondering if maybe he had been going about this the wrong way the whole time, and when he awoke the next morning, his thoughts were still in the same place, both on and off the court.

Goshiki wasn’t about to deny that there wasn’t a shred of truth to what Tendou and Ushijima were saying. Maybe he really was cool by himself. Maybe he didn’t have to go through all of this to impress Akaashi. But the words of past bullying and his own self-doubts overcame them and Goshiki shook his head. No, he needed to do this. He needed to show Akaashi that he could be cool too!

Shiratorizawa and Fukuroudani were playing matches against different teams that day and while he wasn’t as distracted as before, Goshiki’s thoughts never left Akaashi. Because of this, the day went by in a flash and they were now about to all head to dinner, having decided to stay in this time around. He caught sight of Akaashi heading down by himself and hurried over to him.

“Hey, Akaashi!!”

Akaashi turned around at the sound of his name and gave a smile when he saw who it was. “Hey, you doing alright?”

“Yeah! I’m good!” Goshiki answered. They continued walking along. “Thanks for asking!”

“That’s good to hear. To be honest, I was worried after what happened last night.”

Goshiki stopped. “You were worried about me?!”

Akaashi nodded and Goshiki felt himself getting excited again.

“Thank you! But you don’t have to worry about a cool guy like me!” He pointed to himself as he said this. “I don’t get embarrassed about stuff like that!”

Akaashi chuckled. “Oh, I don’t doubt that at all.”

Goshiki beamed. They continued walking in silence for a moment as he racked his brain for what Tendou and Ushijima taught him last night.

“Soooo….taxes?”

“What?”

“Taxes? Thoughts?” Goshiki paused, placed a hand under his chin, and looked off into the distance. Akaashi raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to answer.

“They...exist?”

“Hmmm...interesting…”

“Uh huh…and what are your thoughts on taxes then?”

“Um!” Dang it! Ushijima didn’t get this far in the taxes lesson! Goshiki felt his heart pounding wildly and he looked around for someone to help him. No one was around except for him and Akaashi. Okay! New plan! “Uh, nevermind that! Forget taxes! Tell me your thoughts on...Naruto!”

“Naruto?”

“Yeah! Naruto! Tell me about Naruto!” he blurted. “I think it’s cool! I’ve always wanted to be a ninja!” He did a few quick hand signs.

“Well…” began Akaashi. “Naruto is undoubtedly a popular anime and manga, one that I used to enjoy, but I can’t help but feel let down by how some of the characters are written, ya know? I feel like Kishimoto’s writing quickly devolved into his true feelings of misogyny.”

Oh no! That was  _ definitely _ not in Tendou’s anime lesson!

Goshiki floundered and sputtered as he tried to find the right answer to give. He could see Akaashi grow more disinterested in him with every passing second and that only made him panic even more.

“Look, clearly you have other things to worry about. I’m getting hungry, so I’m gonna go ahead and get dinner. We’ll talk later, I guess.”

**Step 3: Failed!**

Goshiki stood there frozen as he watched Akaashi slowly walk away from him. His heart dropped, now realizing that he had failed, he had big time failed. All of his time and effort had gone completely to waste and now, Akaashi was never going to want to talk to him ever again. He wanted to cry right then and there, but fought back the tears, knowing that it would only further add to his embarrassment. He wanted nothing more than to go back in time and fix whatever he did wrong, but he couldn’t and now, he really wasn’t sure of what to do next.

Suddenly, what Tendou and Ushijima had told him last night came rushing back, and he gasped. Taking a deep breath, Goshiki did his best to calm down, finally understanding what he needed to do now.

“Wait! Akaashi!”

**Step 4: Be yourself!**

Goshiki sprinted over to Akaashi, nearly barreling into him in the process.

“Akaashi, I’m sorry!”

Akaashi’s brow furrowed. “You’re sorry? For what?”

“I didn’t mean to make this weird! I just wanted you to think I was cool because I think you’re really cool! Like super mega cool!” Goshiki waved his arms about as he said all of this. He took another deep breath to calm himself down. “So I tried to do all these things to make you think that I was just as cool as you, but clearly none of it worked and now you probably think I’m just some dumb annoying kid. But I’m not! I swear! So I’m really sorry for making you uncomfortable or anything like that. I just wanted you to like me.”

Goshiki looked down at his feet and let out a sigh. Oddly, he no longer felt worried or anxious and was actually relieved that he managed to get all of that out without stuttering. But now the ball was in Akaashi’s court and there was no way he’d be cool with everything that he just said. Goshiki would be lucky if Akaashi even bothered being in the same room as him. At least then, he could-

“I never thought you were just some dumb annoying kid.”

“Wait, what?” Goshiki looked up with wide eyes to see Akaashi smiling at him. “You didn’t?”

He shook his head. “Actually, I thought you were cool too.”

“You did?!”

Akaashi laughed. Like actually laughed. Not a chuckle like he had done before. He shook his head.

“Once I saw you playing against us, I thought you were really cool. You have a lot of passion and enthusiasm, and I really like that. Not many people are as open with their emotions as you are.”

Goshiki could not believe what he was hearing. He could only stare as Akaashi continued talking.

“Having teammates and friends that care about you is cool. Having the confidence to go out in that outfit was cool. Having the courage to approach someone you didn’t think you could is cool.” He placed a hand on Goshiki’s shoulder and he felt his knees grow weak. “But most of all, being able to admit to your mistakes and apologize is really cool.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Goshiki felt himself tearing up again, but this time, for good reasons. He was still trying to process the fact that not only did Akaashi accept his apology, but that he thought he was cool too! Someone else besides Tendou actually thought he was cool and the thought of that made Goshiki prouder than he ever had before. He smiled brightly at Akaashi who returned it and Goshiki was sure he had never seen anything more beautiful.

“Wanna start over?”

Goshiki nodded and stuck out his hand. “Hi! I’m Goshiki! I’m a first year wing spiker for Shiratorizawa and I think you’re super cool!”

“Hello, Goshiki,” he shook Goshiki’s hand. “I’m Akaashi. I’m a second year as well as the setter for Fukuroudani and I also think you’re super cool.”

They fell silent. This time, both comfortable and awkward.

“Sit next to me at dinner?” asked Akaashi.

Goshiki nodded wildly. “Heck yeah!”

**Step 4: Success!!**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this!  
> If you enjoyed what you read, it would be greatly appreciated if you could reblog or like this fic's corresponding tumblr post, found [here.](https://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/post/190173470876/goshiki-tsutomus-fool-proof-step-by-step-plan-on)
> 
> [dangcommaannie.tumblr.com](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Updates](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/annie-writes-updates)


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